


The Jewel Of Our House

by fengirl88



Series: After Shakespeare [7]
Category: All's Well That Ends Well - Shakespeare, SHAKESPEARE William - Works
Genre: Community: fan_flashworks, Period Typical Attitudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 03:31:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14708298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fengirl88/pseuds/fengirl88
Summary: Bertram doesn’t stop to consider how he will account for the loss of his ancestral ring.





	The Jewel Of Our House

**Author's Note:**

> written for the Ring challenge at fan_flashworks.

Bertram doesn’t stop to consider how he will account for the loss of his ancestral ring. Until his wife is dead, he has sworn not to return to France. Who knows if his mother will even be alive, if that day ever comes? It may not; women’s lives are longer than men’s, if not cut short by childbearing, and there’s no danger of that with Helena. He made that plain in his farewell letter: _When thou canst get the ring upon my finger which never shall come off, and show me a child begotten of thy body that I am father to, then call me husband: but in such a “then” I write a “never.”_

Now he bargains that same ring away for a night with Diana, whose name suits her too well. Not for much longer, if he has his will. She promises to put another ring on his finger in the night. From most women, he would think this a piece of bawdy. He’s not altogether certain it isn’t one, as modest as she seems. If he were not so mad for her, that would blunt the edge of his desire, but he is past all such consideration. He must have this woman, cost him what it will. Nothing will cool this heat but consummation.

The ring Diana exchanges for his is rich beyond what one of her state can afford. Even in the dark, the weight of the gold and the size of the stone declare themselves. If she had not enjoined him to silence, he would have questioned her about it. In the light, its richness is still more of a puzzle, but now the last thing he wants is further speech with her. His only desire is that this business be ended. 

If the news of Helena’s death had come sooner, Diana might have demanded marriage as the price of her bed. It’s bad enough that he has lost the ring, but it could have been worse. Parolles was right: _a young man married is a man that’s marred_. Well, he is free again now. 

He’ll invent some story for his mother of how he lost the ring. The chances of war will furnish an excuse, and if she does not believe him, what of it? The ring is gone, as Helena is gone. Not all a mother’s reproaches will bring either of them back.


End file.
